As the massive tunnel door hissed shut behind the Orc caravan, the air in the brightly lit dock became perfectly still. Karl Leech stood waiting, a tall, imposing figure with unnaturally white skin and an immaculate black suit. He opened his arms wide in a grand, unnecessary gesture.

"Schalezusk! My friend, how are you?"

Schalezusk instinctively kept his guard up. He hadn't seen Karl since he was just a skeleton back then. "Uhhh… who are you?" Schalezusk asked, his voice thick with confusion. His eyes flickered over Karl, then to the equally pale figures of Leo and Piro.

Karl gave a short, knowing laugh. "Ah, I see. I forget. It's me, Karl Leech. This is what I and my key personnel look like now. A little more… presentable, wouldn't you agree?"

Schalezusk was visibly skeptical, trying to reconcile the formidable, solid presence before him with the memory of the clacking bone-man. "Are you really Mr. Karl?"

Leo, passed by, holding a folder, noticed him. He gave a precise, calm nod. "Mr. Schalezusk. It is good to see you again. It's me, Leo."

Schalezusk immediately recognized the pragmatic, cool, and calculated tone. "Ahhh… it's you. That settles it."

Karl sighed, a theatrical gesture. "How could you recognize Leo's tone and not me?"

Schalezusk simply shook his head, finally accepting the bizarre transformation. "I—I apologize, Mr. Karl. I just couldn't see how you and the others changed so quickly. And the he market outside… it's like a city now."

"It's fine. Come on in." Karl gestured for Schalezusk and his stunned associates to follow.

As they walked past pallets stacked with raw materials—a temporary warehouse for quick turnover—Schalezusk looked around. "This place is much bigger than I thought. Not just the plaza. The storage alone is massive."

"Well, we had to expand a little bit," Karl said, the understatement hanging heavily in the vast space. "We expanded our operational scope. That's not without spending gold, of course. We purchase resources from various merchants and villagers—even grain, which we store and sell later for folks in need." He turned, his gaze sharpening. "But I expect you're here to sell something you have."

Schalezusk nodded. "Yes. We found this black liquid a distance from our new home, in a black lake. It burns a little too well. Simon figured you could use it, even though we know you already have those orange stones for your forges. But here we are."

"Of course, we could have some uses for your black liquid. Let's call it oil," Karl said, subtly rebranding the valuable resource. "It's always better to have alternatives, after all." Karl was careful to downplay the oil's value, knowing he was the only one who truly understood its industrial potential beyond siege use and lamps.

"My brother Simon says this oil is a high quality one, than the ones we usually sell to merchants." Schalezusk countered, unwilling to let the value drop. "There's still a bit of mud and sand in it, but what we brought is refined. It's cleaner, so it burns better than the normal ones."

Karl smiled, pleased that Simon had already grasped the basics of filtering. "Where is Simon, by the way? I thought he'd accompany you."

"Our village needs him," Schalezusk said. "He's the only one who can negotiate with sly Beastkin merchants. He's become a much more important figure for our village, handling the thinking. He's also busy making high-quality oil."

"A shame, I would've loved to have a chat with him." Karl replied, glancing at the other Orcs and making no further comment on the relationship between the two brothers.

Schalezusk then asked. "So, how much are you buying them for?"

"We still need to do a little checking, if you don't mind," Karl said, gesturing to the wagon. One barrel was unloaded and inspected.

"This is indeed good," Karl confirmed after dipping a finger into the liquid. He did not say anything that could undermine Simon's hard work. "Since this is high-quality, we'll buy this by the barrel. We could price this for…" Karl paused, letting Schalezusk and the others wait. He then smiled. "We'll take it off you for four silver per barrel. How's that?"

Schalezusk smiled back. "I guess that's about right. We usually sell the normal stuff for one barrel of oil, not including the spare barrels. If they don't bring spares, it's about one silver and fifty bronze. Simon estimated two to four silver, so I'd say this is more than enough."

"Then it's a pleasure doing business," Karl said, shaking the Orc's hand. He then noticed the Orcs' unsatisfied looks. "And I guess you're also here for another thing?"

Schalezusk shook his head, a little embarrassed. "Ahhh… you already know me. We're here to sell the oil in hopes of buying some of those flintlocks of yours, and some grain."

Karl chuckled. "I thought as much. That's not a problem. But I'd assume, you need more than a few."

Schalezusk gulped, expecting the price to be high. "But how much are they exactly?"

"Well, normally, for an outsider, this would go for one hundred gold," Karl said with a straight face.

Schalezusk and his companions were shocked. "That high?!"

Karl suddenly laughed, shedding his composure. "Ahhh, I'm just messing with you! I could sell it for ten silver in the market and still make a five-silver profit margin. But since we're allies, I could give it to you for just five silver a piece." This was not including the ammunition, but Schalezusk immediately started calculating. He figured he could buy five rifles for his companions and still have enough for three sacks of grain.

Karl leaned in, lowering his voice. "How about this. I could loan you ten crates of long rifles—that's fifty rifles—and five crates of ammunition cartridges. You can pay me back later."

Schalezusk was confused. "How does that work exactly?"

"It's simple," Karl explained. "You take the fifty flintlocks and the fifteen hundred ammunition cartridges now. You can pay me later when your next harvests come in or anytime when you can. That's of course, with a yearly interest rate of just ten percent."

Schalezusk thought hard. "That seems like a good idea."

"It is," Karl confirmed. "The total principal for the ten crates of rifles and five crates of ammo is three hundred and fifty silver. The interest, the tenth, would be thirty-five silver. A total of three hundred and eighty-five silver due in one year."

Karl smiled wide, pressing the advantage. "If you accept it now, I'll give you an additional free crate of long rifles and one crate of ammo—that's six more rifles—and a five-year warranty. That means we'll repair any broken rifle for free, and you'll get thirty percent off the cost of any broken parts."

Schalezusk's eyes widened, along with those of the Orcs behind him. The promise of immediate, overwhelming firepower and a generous warranty was irresistible. "Then, where do we begin with this?" he asked instantly, enthusiasm replacing his caution.

"Great!" Karl replied, shaking his hand again. "Follow me, and let's sign the contract."

After signing the necessary papers, Karl, Schalezusk, and his Orc companions watched as the Necro Corp warehouse staff began loading the wagon. The Orcs were eager to test out their new weapons, barely holding in their excitement for the sake of formality as staff heaved long crates of flintlocks, small crates of ammunition cartridges, ten sacks of grain, and a heavy bag of salt onto the wagons.

Karl then gestured toward the staff, who were carefully placing a somewhat large rectangular device onto Schalezusk's wagon. It was made of dull gray metal and seemed oddly light for its size.

"What's that?" Schalezusk asked, pointing.

"That's a new appliance we just finished working on," Karl explained. "It's a device that freezes raw food and can also reheat it. There's a note taped to the side; you can read the instructions on the journey." Karl added. "There's also burgers inside. Enough for everyone.. I hope. "Take it as a free gift. A sample."

Schalezusk's eyes widened, his guard dropping completely. He laughed heartily. "Thank you, Mr. Karl! I've been waiting months to taste a Necro-burger again."

"I bet," Karl smiled. "It's been two months since your last meal here. Leave some for Simon, I bet he's more than happy to finally eat one. It's his favorite after all."

Schalezusk chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll be having a feast when I arrive. I'll make sure everyone in the village gets a taste of the Necro burger. We'll endure the missing taste together when it finally runs out. Hahahahah."

"You're really something, Schalezusk," Karl said, shaking his head with a genuine laugh.

The charismatic Orc turned to leave. "Well, we'd better be going. The folks back home are waiting for us. It's been nice meeting you, Mr. Karl. Thank you for all of this."

Karl raised a hand in farewell. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you. I'll be expecting you next week for the next oil run, no?"

"Of course," Schalezusk confirmed, snapping the reins. The caravan, now heavy with weapons and supplies, rumbled back up the slope, exiting the vast docking area.

Karl watched the Orc caravan disappear back toward the outer gate before turning to Leo, who had remained silent.

"Is it a good idea, my Lord, giving away our new prototype?" Leo asked, his voice calm and professional.

Karl smiled wide, a calculating glint in his pale eyes. "It's not a matter of giving it away, Leo. It's a sample. They're bound to buy more of our products in the future, especially high-margin luxury items like prepared meals." He walked toward the main hall. "It's also a cheap way of strengthening our relationship with them. An investment, you could say. And I'm certainly looking forward to more of their oil." He laughed, the sound echoing lightly off the walls.

Schalezusk heads back to the Grayhorn territory, now armed and carrying a piece of Necro Corp's advanced technology. The Orcs have secured a critical supply of weapons, but at the cost of being indebted to Necro Corp, giving Karl immense leverage over their future resources.

Meanwhile, the region is still consumed by the Ursarok-Lupen conflict.

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